District attorney warns city of Pearland about altered document

Caye Hauser filed a complaint with the Brazoria County district attorney after noticing a discrepancy in the number of acres the city had listed on an annexation ordinance.

Caye Hauser filed a complaint with the Brazoria County district attorney after noticing a discrepancy in the number of acres the city had listed on an annexation ordinance.

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Caye Hauser filed a complaint with the Brazoria County district attorney after noticing a discrepancy in the number of acres the city had listed on an annexation ordinance.

Caye Hauser filed a complaint with the Brazoria County district attorney after noticing a discrepancy in the number of acres the city had listed on an annexation ordinance.

District attorney warns city of Pearland about altered document

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Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne has admonished Pearland city officials after finding that a document pertaining to the city's annexation of a tract count land had been altered.

In a letter sent to City Council members on Feb. 1, Yenne warned that a corrected typo on an ordinance document concerning the number of acres the city is annexing on the tract "could constitute tampering with a governmental record."

Yenne said any attempt to use the altered document to enforce annexation of that area, which is south of Shadow Creek Ranch between county roads 564 and 48, would result in a review for prosecution.

"The investigation found that the record was altered after the Mayor signed it to make Ordinance Number 1548 reflect 895 acres instead of 885 acres," Yenne wrote in her letter. "As such, it is not a record that the City of Pearland or its agents may use or present as a genuine and valid governmental record without violating the penal code."

As a result, said Pearland City Attorney Darrin Coker, the document certifying "Area A" as within city limits will be changed back to reflect that the land covers 885 acres instead of 895.

Coker said the error was unintentional.

"The individual did not know it had been partially executed," Coker said of the administrative staff member who made the change. "It was clearly an honest mistake."

Mayor Tom Reid has signed a new ordinance re-executed by the city that lists the acreage as 885, Coker said. He said the move has satisfied the district attorney's instruction in her letter to correct the record.

Yenne's office had looked into the matter after receiving a criminal complaint from Caye Hauser, who lives in Area A.

Yenne said the incident was reviewed by a grand jury. "A record signed by the mayor was altered after execution, you can't do that. The procedure that was used by Pearland was not lawful. I strongly encourage them to take an assessment of their polices and conduct an internal investigation about what happened," Yenne said of city officials.

Hauser and other county residents living in that area urged City Council on Feb. 26 to reconsider annexing the tract, which they say was done through a rushed, flawed process in which Pearland acquired various parcels before Dec. 1, when a new law changed rules for annexations. That law, Senate Bill 6, requires consent from voters living in areas targeted for annexation.

"You would think they would do the right thing," Hauser said of the city after the Feb. 26 meeting.

Coker said his office was not aware the final ordinance showed the wrong number of acres (885) until Hauser brought it to their attention.

When Hauser showed up to City Hall a few days after the council's approval of the ordinance to obtain a copy of the law, she was initially given the document that listed the acreage as 885. She said that when she pointed out the discrepancy between the number on the document and the 895 acres approved by council, Coker and another official blamed the difference on a typo.

"We'll have a signed copy for you at 4:30,' is what they told me," said Hauser. "When I picked it up, guess what, it was changed." The new document had 895 acres written on it.

Hauser then went to Yenne's office to file the complaint.

The city staff member who made the change to the acreage number did not know the ordinance had already been signed by the mayor because there are multiple pages to the document, with Reid's signature on the last one, Coker said.

During City Council's second and final reading of the ordinance before it was approved on Nov. 27, the acreage number that was read aloud was 895, a meeting video shows.

The council voted 4-2 to annex Area A, with council members Tony Carbone and Woody Owens casting the no votes.

"We had a staff member that made an understandable mistake. Ultimately, it does not change the ordinance that was passed," City Councilman Trent Perez said.

He said discussions with city staff have occurred to ensure such an error doesn't reoccur.

Said Hauser: "It probably was a typo, but they didn't do it right."

She and husband, Gerard, and other residents in their neighborhood hope the episode prompts county and state lawmakers to look into the city's annexation process.

Hauser said that she had sent email messages to every council member in October before the vote, alerting them to a discrepancy in the acreage amount between what was in notices the city sent to residents (885) and posted online and what was written on a surveyor's notice performed for the city (895). She said she never received a response from the city about her messages.

Yenne wrote: "The notices provided to the public were inconsistent in regard to the size of the annexation area."

The city's annexation of Area A and other tracts ahead of Senate Bill 6 taking effect has drawn criticism from state officials including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In a letter dated Nov. 28, Paxton wrote thatSenate Bill 6 "makes annexation more democratic. As a result, cities throughout Texas are rushing to annex land before December 1 when SB 6 will require them to obtain voter approval. The City of Pearland is one of these cities."Residents in another tract land annexed by Pearland during the same process, called "Area L," have filed a lawsuit against the city, said Michele Falzon, who owns property in that area. That area is northeast of Texas 35 between Dixie Farm Road and County Road 129 and includes about 1,000 acres and Pearland Regional Airport.